Diet quality and immunocompetence influence parasite load of roe deer in a fragmented landscape

Nora Navarro-Gonzalez (1) , Hélène Verheyden (2) , Hervé Hoste (3) , Bruno Cargnelutti (2) , Bruno Lourtet (2) , Joel Merlet (2) , Tanguy Daufresne (4) , Santiago Lavín (1) , A. J. Mark Hewison (2) , Serge Morand (5) , Emmanuel Serrano (1)

1 Servei d' Ecopatologia de Fauna Salvatge, Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals
2 CEFS - Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage
3 IHAP - Interactions hôtes-agents pathogènes [Toulouse]
4 INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique
5 UMR ISEM - Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier

The influence of landscape structure and host diet on parasite load of wildlife is still largely unknown. We studied a roe deer () population in a fragmented agricultural landscape in southern France to explore the relationship of gastrointestinal nematode load with spleen mass (to index immunocompetence), faecal nitrogen (to index diet quality), landscape structure and age of 33 hunt-harvested roe deer. Gastrointestinal worm counts were negatively related to faecal nitrogen and spleen mass, explaining respectively 24.7% and 9.2% of the observed variability in parasite load. Landscape structure did not appear to have a direct influence on gastrointestinal worm counts, but since animals from more open areas have a diet that is richer in nitrogen, its influence may be indirect. In conclusion, in the study area, the colonisation of the agricultural landscape does not seem to have increased the risk of gastrointestinal nematode parasitism for roe deer, possibly because access to high-quality food enhances immunocompetence.

Mots clés: Landscape structure; Ungulate; Spleen; Gastrointestinal nematodes; Faecal nitrogen

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

Nora Navarro-Gonzalez, Hélène Verheyden, Hervé Hoste, Bruno Cargnelutti, Bruno Lourtet, et al.. Diet quality and immunocompetence influence parasite load of roe deer in a fragmented landscape. European Journal of Wildlife Research, 2010, 57 (3), pp.639-645. ⟨10.1007/s10344-010-0474-x⟩. ⟨hal-00649063⟩